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Venice Film Festival kicks off with Paolo
Sorrentino’s ‘La Grazia’
[August 27, 2025]
By LINDSEY BAHR
VENICE,
Italy (AP) — The Venice Film Festival is kicking off with the world
premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” on Wednesday.
The 82nd
edition of the glamourous international film festival is playing host to
many Hollywood stars, including George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dwayne
Johnson, and famed auteurs, from Guillermo del Toro to Kathryn Bigelow,
who all have films debuting over the next 10 days.
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Film posters outside the Excelsior hotel ahead of the Venice Film
Festival in Venice, Italy, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Photo by
Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP) |
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The
festival, which takes place on the Lido, chose to open with the
newest film from one of Italy’s most revered working filmmakers.
“La Grazia” stars Sorrentino’s longtime collaborator Toni
Servillo, although the plot has remained under wraps.
Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera told The
Associated Press that “La Grazia” took them by surprise.
“It’s a different Sorrentino from what we are used to,” Barbera
said. “Far less baroque and formalistic than the previous films
he made. It’s a very unexpected story.”
Sorrentino, best known for his Oscar-winning film “The Great
Beauty,” made his debut at the Venice Film Festival 24 years ago
with the film “One Man Up.” He also won the Silver Lion prize in
2021 for “The Hand of God,” which went on to be nominated for an
Oscar. Many films that premiere at Venice go on to Oscar
nominations and wins.
Before the glitzy world premiere, anti-war protesters also plan
to hold a news conference in front of the famed red carpet to
put a spotlight on Gaza.
“La Grazia” is one of the 21 films playing in the festival’s
main competition. Other titles vying for the prestigious Golden
Lion prize include del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Bigelow’s “A House
of Dynamite,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia,” Benny Safdie’s “The
Smashing Machine” and Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind
Rajab. ”
The festival runs through Sept. 6.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
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